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[handofsilver]

(He is deep within one of the adjoining caverns, holding a lamp aloft. It's totally understandable if you have never seen anything quite like it. He is a crafty Elf.)

No one seems to have a thirst for mining ore. Is it an uncommon practice in other worlds?

(He sets down the lamp and lifts up a pick-axe, bringing it against the rock wall in a precise manner. The stone gives away, cracking and revealing something that...shimmers...underneath. He runs his hand over it, curious.)

Some call this a hellish land - and perhaps that is so - but we are within this planet's womb. I should like to see what treasures can be unveiled.

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[so_dark_a_road]

[ And it is Curufin's great delight to see how the life flows back into his son's battered body, how he moves now with so much more ease -- and so much more joy. ]

I would. [ Grin. ] Are you in the caves beyond the woods? I'll come and find you.

[ He sees the daggers and the sword. ] Well, you have come well-prepared!

A very beautiful gem, and different than the ones we know. It will be a pleasure to discover its properties.

[ And he quickly puts away his current project, picks up his weapons, and goes out of the forge-shack's door and into the woods. He keeps the phone in his hand and the connection open. ]

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[handofsilver]

You have a good eye! (He tucks a few smaller pieces of the gemstone into his bag, tightening the strap as he shifts it against his back.) I will wait for you to catch up. There is plenty to -

(He cuts himself off, silver eyes widening. There is audible breathing over the feed and...growling. Celebrimbor dampens his lamp and unsheathes his sword. Well he has been too lucky for a bit too long.)

Áva sorya. (He can be a hunter instead of the prey.)

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[so_dark_a_road]

Ávan, melin yondo. [ Quietly. ]

[ Curufin knows his son can be a hunter, for there were some years in East Beleriand when Celebrimbor demonstrated his combat skills nearly every day. Things were not always peaceful during the Long Peace, not in Aglon! And today, Curufin has confidence in his son. Nevertheless, he breaks into a run, plunges through the trees and soon comes to the Hadriel wall. Out of its rocky edifice many tunnels exit, but there is one in particular that he is concerned with. He darts into its mouth and follows his heart, taking the turns it dictates to him. It is better than a GPS system. When he feels he is near Cel's location, he moves on silent feet, in case the creature that was doing the loud breathing already there. He does not call out, for the same reason. ]

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[handofsilver]

(He senses his father's presence and he turns to motion to him. While the beast is close, it has not taken full notice of Celebrimbor yet. Or Curufin for that matter. The poor thing looks old and it is likely blind - a product of living in the dark, no doubt - and the young Elf is making no move to attack. Instead he is watching the creature's progress curiously, smiling faintly at the grunts and snorts that echo around the cavern.)

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[so_dark_a_road]

[ And oh, it was not only in Aglon that they fought side by side. On the long road to Nargothrond, it was the same. They fought spiders that crawled down from the feet of the Mountains of Terror, and other nightmare creatures that fed on the awful confluence of energies -- Morgoth's and Melian's -- at the fences of Doriath.

But this is. . .what?? Certainly a creature of the night, as are all the tunnel monsters, but. . . old, and not particularly capable. Furthermore, it seems unable to see the two Elves, or perhaps even to smell them. Is it coming because it has somehow sensed their presence, or is it just bumbling along the tunnel, unaware of its peril?

Curufin senses that Celebrimbor's animal-protecting impulses have been triggered by this creature. And his son has good instincts. Curufin decides to follow Cel's lead, instead of leaping to the attack. ]